Paris, Amsterdam, January 28, 2015
Press Release
FULL-YEAR RESULTS 2014
Exceeding, Reshaping, Innovating
"2014 has been synonymous with exceptional achievements for Unibail-Rodamco. Net recurring results reached €1,068 Mn, up by +8.3%. The Group's strategy to concentrate on the largest regional shopping centres in Europe has led to the sale of non-strategic assets totaling €2.1 Bn. The stake acquired in CentrO, one of Germany's best shopping centres, and the signing of agreements for prime development projects in Brussels and Hamburg, have confirmed our leadership. 2014 was also marked by exceptional momentum for both our shopping centres and offices. Continuous innovation by Unibail-Rodamco's teams has further strengthened the Group's position as the undisputed leader in European commercial real estate."
Christophe Cuvillier, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board
Recurring EPS at €10.92, up +6.8%
The Group's net recurring result was €1,068 Mn, up +8.3% from €986 Mn in 2013, driven by strong like-for-like growth in shopping centres and offices, the successful deliveries in 2013, the acquisition of a stake in CentrO in May 2014 and a record-low cost of debt of 2.6%.
Strong operating performance, exceeding expectations
Despite a deteriorating macroeconomic environment in the second half of the year, Unibail-Rodamco's performance was robust and demonstrates the strength of its business model.
In the Retail segment, footfall increased by +1.5% and tenant sales in the Group's shopping centres for the year 2014 grew by +2.7%, thanks, among others, to the very strong performance of tenants in the Group's French shopping centres in December, up +3.6% compared to 2013. Overall, the Group's tenant sales increased by +2.4% through November 2014, outperforming the national indices by +190 bps.
The like-for-like Net Rental Income (NRI) growth was up +3.8% compared to 2013, 300 bps above indexation, the best performance since 2011. The Group signed 1,458 leases on standing assets, with a Minimum Guaranteed Rent uplift of +19.6% (+23,4% in the large malls[1] (#_ftn1)). Unibail-Rodamco signed 182 leases with international premium retailers up from 165 in 2013. Vacancy stood at 2.2%, of which 0.3% in strategic vacancy to prepare for major restructuring projects, down from 2.5% at the end of 2013.
In the French offices segment, the Group recorded a second year of outperformance with a total take-up of 93,217 m², up by +16% from 2013, compared to the growth in take-up in Greater Paris of +13%. A number of significant leases were signed on new offices in Paris, demonstrating the success of « The New Art of Working », the Group's strategic initiative in offices. Like-for-like NRI growth of the Group's French offices division came to +5.2%.
Despite still challenging conditions, Convention & Exhibition NRI was up by +4.9% compared to 2013 and stable compared to 2012, the last comparable year. Large shows performed well, and 24 new exhibitions were launched. The new 50-year lease on Porte de Versailles, signed with the City of Paris in December 2013, started on January 1st, 2015.
Reshaping the retail portfolio
Starting in 2009, Unibail-Rodamco has worked to reshape its portfolio to focus on very large shopping centres, located in wealthy and densely populated catchment areas of major European cities. During 2014, the Group accelerated this strategy and disposed of €1.8 Bn[2] (#_ftn2) of shopping centres in France, The Netherlands and Spain. Following the completion of the sale of Nicétoile in January 2015 for €312.5 Mn, the Group, in less than one year, has exceeded its objective to dispose of between €1.5 and €2.0 Bn of retail assets over a five-year period. In the meantime, in Germany, the Group acquired a stake in CentrO and increased its stake in mfi to 91.15%.
The execution of this strategy has led to the creation of a pan-European homogenous super prime portfolio. Since 2009, the average gross market value (GMV) of a Unibail-Rodamco shopping centre has more than doubled from €172 Mn to €395 Mn. The average GLA has grown by 34%, from 49,200 to 66,000 m² and the average footfall is up from 7.9 to 10.8 Mn.
Innovating to offer a unique customer experience
Aiming to further improve the Group's leading position in terms of asset quality, premium services and differentiated customer experience, "UR Lab" launched several new initiatives in 2014 and further refined a number of concepts introduced previously, driving additional footfall. Fresh!, inspired by the best downtown food markets, was launched in Glories (Barcelona), iPhone and Android app downloads increased by +42% year-on-year and the number of Facebook fans of the Group's shopping centres and loyalty cards program grew by +30% and +33%, respectively. 4 further shopping centres were awarded the 4 Star label: the CNIT (Paris region), Pasing Arcaden (Munich), Fisketorvet (Copenhagen) and Täby Centrum (Stockholm), bringing the total number of 4 Star shopping centres to 19. The Group also successfully launched in April the "Unexpected Shopping" campaign across Europe in 24 shopping centres. Original and ground-breaking, this unique advertising campaign was a world-premiere for shopping centres and has now become a new way to communicate for the Group.
Unrivalled financial market conditions lead to a further decrease in the average cost of debt
The Group raised €6.5 Bn of medium to long-term debt through diversified sources of funding and its financial ratios stand at healthy levels: Loan-to-Value at 37% and the interest cover ratio at 4.2x. Unibail-Rodamco's average cost of debt reached a new record low of 2.6% in 2014, down -30 bps from 2013. The average maturity of the Group's debt increased to 5.9 years. The Group has ample liquidity, with €4.9 Bn of undrawn bank lines.
Active leasing and yield compression drive portfolio revaluation
The GMV of the Group's portfolio as of December 31, 2014, amounted to €34.6 Bn, up +7.6% from €32.1 Bn on December 31, 2013, and +4.9% (€1.2 Bn) on a like-for-like basis. French malls grew by +4.8% on a like-for-like basis thanks to the Group's active leasing and to yield compression. In Spain, the portfolio value increased by +10.2% on a like-for-like basis as a result of yield compression on the back of a number of benchmark transactions. The Group's French office portfolio saw its GMV grow by +1.3% on a like-for-like basis. It is the first time since 2010 that the appraisers have revalued the Group's office portfolio positively.
The average net initial yield of the retail portfolio was 4.8%, down from 5.1% in December 2013. Going Concern NAV stands at €166.30 per share as at December 31, 2014, an increase of +4.2% compared to December 31, 2013. Value creation in Going Concern NAV during 2014 amounted to €23.98 per share, partially offset by the €8.90 dividend paid in May 2014 and the negative impact of -€8.38 per share resulting from the mark-to-market of debt and derivatives.
Record pipeline at €8.0 Bn: active refueling to power future growth
After a very active 2013 in terms of deliveries, 2014 saw the delivery of the Majunga tower (La Défense, France) and Palais Vest (Recklinghausen, Germany). The Group refueled its development pipeline with two significant new projects: NEO (Brussels, Belgium) for the complete redevelopment of the Heysel plateau, including Mall of Europe, a 114,000 m² GLA shopping centre; and Überseequartier (Hamburg, Germany), where the City of Hamburg and Unibail-Rodamco will develop a unique shopping, touristic and business destination in HafenCity: a total of over 184,000 m² GLA of which 50% dedicated to leisure and retail. The Group expects to add 1.2 Mn m² of additional GLA with its extensions and brownfield retail projects, representing an increase of ca. 36% of the Group's existing retail GLA. The estimated total investment cost (TIC) of the consolidated development pipeline as at December 31, 2014 amounts to €8.0 Bn, compared to €6.9 Bn as at December 31, 2013.
Medium to long-term earnings outlook is increased
The disposals made in 2014 have allowed Unibail-Rodamco to improve the growth prospects of the Group. For 2015, the core business is therefore anticipated to be strong and the Group expects the underlying recurring earnings per share to grow by between +6% and +8%. As a consequence of the massive 2014 disposals and as a result of the further disposals the Group plans to make in 2015 (e.g., Arkady Pankrac and selected others), recurring earnings are expected to reach €10.15 to €10.35 per share in 2015.
For the 2016-2019 period, the combination of healthy like-for-like growth prospects, the streamlining of the Group's portfolio, deliveries from the development pipeline and the protected cost of borrowing, leads the Group to raise the outlook for the compound annual growth rate of its recurring earnings per share, from between +5% and +7% previously, to between +6% and +8%[3] (#_ftn3).
Dividend
The Group will propose to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to declare a dividend of €9.60 per share in cash for 2014. This represents an increase of +7.9% from 2013 and an 88% pay-out ratio of net recurring result, up from 87% last year.
Further to the Group's announcement in October 2014, Unibail-Rodamco will, from January 2015, pay its dividend in two installments: an interim dividend of €4.80 on March 26, 2015 and, subject to approval by the AGM, a final dividend of €4.80 on July 6, 2015.
The calendar of payment dates in 2016 (for the 2015 fiscal year dividend) will be as follows:
- Payment of an interim dividend on March 25, 2016 (ex-dividend date March 23, 2016); and
- Payment of a final dividend, subject to approval of the AGM, on July 6, 2016 (ex-dividend date July 4, 2016).
For 2015 and thereafter, the Group intends to continue an annual cash distribution of at least €9.60 per share.
| FY-2014 | FY-2013 | Growth | Like-for-like growth | |
| Net Rental Income (in € Mn) | 1,465 | 1,352 | +8.4% | +3.9% |
| 1,192 | 1,097 | +8.7% | +3.8% |
| 172 | 160 | +8.0% | +4.2% |
| 100 | 96 | +4.9% | +4.9% |
| Recurring net result (in € Mn) | 1,068 | 986 | +8.3% | |
| Recurring EPS (in € per share) | 10.92 | 10.22 | +6.8% | |
| Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013 | |||
| Total portfolio valuation (in € Mn) | 34,576 | 32,134 | +7.6% | +4.9% |
| Going Concern Net Asset Value (in € per share) | 166.30 | 159.60 | +4.2% | |
| EPRA triple Net Asset Value (in € per share) | 151.20 | 146.20 | +3.4% |
Figures may not add up due to rounding.
The appendix to the press release and the full-year 2014 results presentation are available on the Group's website www.unibail-rodamco.com (http://www.unibail-rodamco.com)
The audit procedures by statutory auditors are in progress.
For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Julie Coulot
+33 1 76 77 57 22
julie.coulot@unibail-rodamco.com
Media Relations
Pauline Duclos-Lenoir
+33 1 76 77 57 94
pauline.duclos-lenoir@unibail-rodamco.com
About Unibail-Rodamco
Created in 1968, Unibail-Rodamco SE is Europe's largest listed commercial property company, with a presence in 12 EU countries, and a portfolio of assets valued at €34.6 billion as of December 31, 2014. As an integrated operator, investor and developer, the Group aims to cover the whole of the real estate value creation chain. With the support of its 2,085 professionals, Unibail-Rodamco applies those skills to highly specialised market segments such as large shopping centres in major European cities and large offices and convention & exhibition centres in the Paris region.
The Group distinguishes itself through its focus on the highest architectural, city planning and environmental standards. Its long term approach and sustainable vision focuses on the development or redevelopment of outstanding places to shop, work and relax. Its commitment to environmental, economic and social sustainability has been recognised by inclusion in the DJSI (World and Europe), FTSE4Good and STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes.
The Group is a member of the CAC 40, AEX 25 and EuroSTOXX 50 indices. It benefits from an A rating from Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.
For more information, please visit our website: www.unibail-rodamco.com (http://www.unibail-rodamco.com/)
[1] (#_ftnref1) Above 6 Mn visits per year.
[2] (#_ftnref2) Net disposal proceeds.
[3] (#_ftnref3) This medium-term outlook is derived from the Group's annual 5-year business plan exercise, key inputs in which are indexation, rental uplifts, disposals, timely delivery of pipeline projects, cost of debt and taxation, variations in which may cause growth rates to vary from year to year.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: UNIBAIL-RODAMCO SE via Globenewswire
